Russian generals die as helicopter downed by Chechen rebels
Chechen rebels today shot down a Russian helicopter, killing 10 senior officers including two generals, and launched an attack on the republic’s second city.
They fired a portable surface-to-air missile on the Mi-8 helicopter after it took off from the Chechen capital Grozny.
‘‘Two generals and eight colonels of the General Staff were killed along with the crew,’’ said the Russian military commander in Chechnya, Colonel General Valery Baranov said.
Baranov said the officers were members of the General Staff team on an inspection trip to the rebel region. The team’s head was Major General Anatoly Pozdnyakov.
Also today, rebels attacked Russian outposts on the outskirts of Gudermes, where many officials in the region’s Kremlin-appointed administration are based.
Rebels came at the city from different directions firing automatic weapons and grenade launchers.
At least five Russian servicemen died in the gun battle, which lasted for several hours.
